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Sep 29, 2018
Disclaimer: I watched the Japanese subbed version of this film.
I am here… to write a review!
I watched this movie in theatres and gave it some careful planning before writing this review to let the hype die down. It was amazing though.
Story: Overall, the story is nothing surprising, (but as far as anime movie spinoffs go it’s a 10) the plot points are well executed and the pacing seemed to have a similar fast pace as the series is known for, although some parts had me internally complaining it was a little too slow (some of Act One), it managed to slow down as much as
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necessary to not feel rushed. And the best part is, it’s canon (although timeline placement is a bit messy)! An 8/10 for story.
Art and Animation: It was almost a 10/10. Almost. The climaxes and fight scenes were legendary, but there were a couple points in the non-action scenes where it is too easy to see where some corners needed to be cut (to make those scenes as good as they were), so unfortunately, it’s knocked back to a 9/10.
Sound: This one is sitting on about an 8.5/10, rounding up. The score was well done, implementing many of our well-known pieces wonderfully, and underscoring the scenes they were placed in very well, not to mention the use of the lack of sound in some scenes to further provide a sense of gravity to the situation when it was needed. The voice acting for all recurring characters was up to standard, and for the movie-only characters, it was superb and utterly convincing regardless of the character’s emotions. In all, well done.
Characters: The characters in this film; the expression of the characters, the character designs and the voice acting, of characters new and old, stayed faithful to our views of them, and the film-only characters were well-fleshed out and came to life during the short run of the film. No one suddenly acted out of character, and existing characters weren’t broken at all during the run of the film, making it feel much more authentic and immersive. A 9/10 for characters.
Enjoyment: I loved this movie and as I walked out I wanted to immediately go back in and watch it again, especially in dub (which I haven’t seen of the film but would like to). The absolute best moments had me in awe, and I even managed to laugh out loud at a couple of the jokes made, not to mention how amazing it was to see some scenes of Young All Might in action! If I keep talking, I’ll start gushing because 24 hours isn’t enough to kill the hype train in me yet. A 10/10 for enjoyment.
Overall: Overall, this was a very good movie. As both an extension of the existing series, and as a stand-alone film (as it gives a quick overview of the general plot to give new viewers context, but not to annoy the old viewers). I would recommend it to all fans of the series, and whilst it is somewhat suited to newcomers, in the sense of recaps for context, I would not recommend this be someone’s first introduction to the series (although it wouldn’t be bad, but it spoils S1 and S2 plot points). My overall score for this anime is a solid 9/10.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Apr 7, 2018
Yuri Yura Rarara Yuru Yuri (x3)
DI-IE CHI-CKE-N (actually dai jiken)
I can never unhear that…
Yuru Yuri is a very fun anime. I really enjoyed it, and yes, I approve the amount of yuri present (no it is not a yuri anime, but still does not disappoint the title ;p)
Story: The story of Yuru Yuri follows the four main characters; Kyouko, Yui, Chinatsu, and, uh… the other one, as they have fun middle school adventures. The overarching story of this season leaves something to be desired, as it does not have much to draw back onto, and instead relies on more of an, episode by episode formula,
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with strong characters and occasional callbacks. I’m gonna relate this to Nichijou somewhat through this review (yes I know I should be judging it on its own merits, and I am, it’s more for comparison’s sake), as they have similar segments throughout the episode, or series, that are made for specific gags and do not really contribute to any overarching plot points, so marking such shows on story is somewhat hard. That being said, I’ll give this a 6.5/10, and bloat it to a 7/10. It’s good, nothing special, nothing bad, just good.
Art/Animation: This is not one o my strong suits (neither is sound) and other reviews will cover this better, but: The art and animation used are generally fluid and well animated. The art is at a consistent quality throughout the duration of the anime, and the style is not simplistic. They also, at times, employ other animation styles to add to the current scene which is always welcome if correctly employed. Overall, an 8.5/10 for animation, rounding it to a 9/10.
Sound: The sound is well employed in the OP/ED and the general background music used it phonetically pleasing and always used to accent a scene, never drawing away from it, or failing at its job. There were a couple of standout pieces and the OP/ED are always fun to listen to (and watch), and employs one of my favourite techniques, yet rarely used ones (at least in what I’ve seen), where the cast is used to sing the songs (typically in character). Overall an 8.5/10 for sound, rounding again to a 9/10. Side Note: That OP is a great tongue twister when you’re first learning it and want to pronounce it properly. (Side Side Note: It also has a 'light novel'-esque title. As in, crazy long, which I actually enjoy).
Characters: This category is tricky. Yuru Yuri does have solid characters that it builds up, but for the most part of this season, a couple of them (namely 3, but I won’t give names as some are joke centralised), are reduced at times to become their defining character trait that is subject to jokes. While this can work, it is (not always in this but in media) used for cheap and unearned laughs most of the time. That being said, a couple points would need to be subtracted to compensate, so Yuru Yuri is getting a 7.5/10 for character, rounding to an 8.
Enjoyment: I REALLY enjoyed watching our three protagonists’ shenanigans throughout these episodes. Much of the comedic timing was spot on, and although some of the jokes can be seen off in the distance before they arrive, they are still amusing when they do so. All in all, I would give this season of Yuru Yuri a solid 9/10 for the enjoyment factor, as it really is quite good a lot of the time, and I was sad to see it end.
Overall: Overall, Yuru Yuri is a good anime, it’s jokes rarely fall flat and occasionally even got me to actually laugh. The writing behind them is typically well done (something I am glad I finally get to talk about), and the character designs are on point. Coupling that with solid animation and great sound and you land a solid anime with an 8.4/10, rounding down to an 8/10 for its final overall score. I’d recommend this anime to anyone who enjoys comedy anime (and isn’t a comedy snob), or people who like the slice of life genre, as this also doubles down on that, with of course, a touch here and there of the more extreme.
I feel like I forgot to properly mention someone important though…
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 3, 2018
That OP song is wonderful though.
Story: Overlord’s story is, in my opinion, one of the better isekai genre stories of recent years. It manages to not fall into too many unbearable clichés and the few that it does have are played off well enough to feel enjoyable, and at times as if a fresh take was applied to the same old idea. Overlord II is no different, as we see the return of our villains in the long-anticipated sequel. The story of Overlord II manages to improve on its predecessor by speeding up the pacing, and taking a step back from the main character, Ainz.
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Instead choosing to focus on the Guardians and civilian(ish) characters and telling their stories. It manages to cover a similar amount of source material as the first season, but much more seems to be happening and we are even gifted with some character development from the Guardians of Nazarick. With the method that this series has decided to take in this season, Ainz is now appearing to be the powerful and all-seeing overlord to the audience as well, not just the characters. The story arcs centralise around a Guardian’s exploits, and none of them overstay their welcomes. Unfortunately, at times there were some unneeded or, built-up and then irrelevant plot points, so I will reduce the score to an 8/10 for story (more of a 7.5, rounded to an 8).
Art/Animation: Overlord II has cool character designs that are almost always well-drawn, the animation is usually quite fluid and the use of CGI in some scenes, especially the battle scenes works very well. There are a couple instances of unfortunate CGI throughout the show, as well as some animation issues with background characters, but as a whole it is well done and smooth. Unfortunately, I do not have the best eye for animation and art (nor the best ear for sound), so anything I say should be taken as someone with no experience in either field, and only a general statement of the overall quality. I am giving Overlord II an 8/10 for art/animation (Raw: 8.4).
Sound: The sound for this anime was definitely good. The voice acting never felt too forced or unfortunate otherwise, and the sound direction was very well done. The music, whilst not being wholly unique, was well orchestrated (pun not intended) and always help accentuate the moments that they were a part of, enriching the experience as a whole. The OP song was really good (this is more of a side note) and the animation used in it (bit off topic) matched up very well and was done almost perfectly, in my opinion an improvement over OP 1 (they graduated from standing in a void, to walking with a background) (I am now ready for the riots of the OP 1 fans). Overall, I’m giving this category a raw 8.5, and personally rounding up to a 9, but objectively will round it down to an 8, as my personal preferences of music shouldn’t bump up the score.
Characters: This category has also seen a marginal improvement from the earlier season, as the audience is now shown the goings-on of characters other than the big man himself, Ainz. As previously stated, this allows for more character development and explores the motivations and personalities of the previously 2D Guardians. They are now fleshed out, and unlike the first season, the antagonists have now also had some of their own development, as they now appear to be actual human beings (except for, like, the Lizardmen). As always the character designs were as cool as ever, and some of the new additions were believable and understandable. There were a couple let downs here and there with my expectations for characters, and it was disappointing that the series did not innovate with them as much as I had wanted to, but overall, I’m giving Overlord II an 8/10 for its characters (more of a 7.5, rounded to an 8).
Enjoyment: This is the part where my personal preferences CAN bump up the score. Using an amalgamation of all of my past points throughout this review, I would give this a solid 9/10 for enjoyment. This series was the one that I looked forward to the most each week from its season, and I never felt the need to skip the OP (meaning the OP was good and the show wasn’t unbearable). Personally, I am an Overlord fan and thus, this specific point may have a bit of bias, but I would like to believe that the rest of the review does not. The animation was appealing, the Albedo… fan service… was dialled back a bit from the previous season, I got to see more of the other Guardians (and unfortunately more of Demiurge, I honestly have no real reason to hate him, he just rubs me the wrong way) that I really enjoyed. Personally I think S3 should feature more of Best Girl Delta, but I know that is merely a pipe-dream. All in all, I really did enjoy this, and now that I’m done trying to annoy as many people as possible with me ‘personal preferences’, I’ll move on with the review.
Overall: Overlord II is getting a raw 8.1 from me, landing it on a solid 8/10 overall score. Taking into account all of its flaws, and all of its achievements, I believe this is a fair score. The last season would be pushing the 8 I gave it ( more of a high 7), but this 8 was earned. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the first season (of course), and anyone who would like to witness one of the better recent isekais. Yes, it does have flaws and clichés, but they are handled well (and y’know, the characters do have some personality to them, even if Ainz can occasionally get a bit 2D) and I’m really looking forward to the upcoming season 3. That’s my final word on the topic, I hope I was helpful.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Apr 1, 2018
Hajimete no Gal; my bane.
Story: Hajimete's story is a fairly simple one, and at first glance it appeared to show a lot of promise, and I expected it to even be a good comedy/ecchi seasonal that could help pass the time. Unfortunately, I was very wrong. Apart from the premise, there is no real story here. More a series of cliches thrown together and characters placed into them to react (I use the term character loosely). Granted, they are cliches for a reason, because they are successful and work, but it is at least my personal opinion that a story cannot be based upon them
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alone. 2/10 for story.
Art: The art and animation in Hajimete is an interesting issue. In half of the scenes, it is passable and at standard to be average (like a 5 or 6), but in the other half of the scenes it is quite atrocious. I managed to count a couple times where lip flaps didn't remotely sync up, people's eyes came off of their faces, or were just cropped in side views so that they ended up looking deformed, or just plain horrible. The only saving grace is that whenever the show saw a money-shot, they doubled down on that and the animation went through the roof (always good to see where a show's budget goes). I'm giving this a 3/10 for art.
Sound: I really tried. but I was unable to really find any solid tracks in the OST whilst watching this. It wasn't bad, per se. But nothing stood out, and it never seemed to accentuate a scene, half the time I didn't even realise it was there, and not in the good ambient way, just in general, due to its lack of an impact on the viewer and the show. A 2/10 for sound.
Character: This was probably the part about the show that upset me the most, because if the characters were good, I could accept the rest of the show and maybe even bump up a couple numbers here and there, but they're one of the worst aspects of it. Again, calling them characters is a very loose use of the term, character traits would be more accurate. The girls have: the onii-chan loli, the tsundere, the bitch, and the main girl. The males have: the misogynist, the lame one who is also a misogynist, but to a lesser degree, the pedophile and the main character. It's especially funny when the characters are used to point out how hilarious grown men being attracted to small children is, or how women are objects (obvious sarcasm is obvious), and I cannot fathom how several people all agreed that the characters that the audience is supposed to bond with are either one-dimensional, or just plain offensive. In my humble opinion, this can only receive a 1/10 for it's "characters".
Enjoyment: I swore I would never drop an anime that I watched, and this took me over 6 months to get through since I began to watch it and even then it took its toll on me. I found myself continually checking the progress bar and groaning. Words cannot accurately convey my disdain for this anime and as of this date, and most likely forever, I plan to place this anime within its own special circle of hatred within my heart as my least favourite anime. This could only get a 1/10 for enjoyment.
Overall: Overall, this anime is getting a 1/10. I came in wanting to like it and I just couldn't. With all of its glaring errors/issues in its story/art/sound/character, I would place this in a similar category as hentai, but without the only reason people watch it. I can honestly think of no real redeeming qualities for this anime, try as I might, but all they really had in mind was the traditional 'sex sells'. Ecchi is one of my least favourite genres because of all the pitfalls it can fall into, but if it is done right, it can birth some beautiful and amazing franchises, I'm just disappointed that this ended up falling into the black hole of fanservice, at the expense of the show's quality, or as a substitute for the lack of.
Reviewer’s Rating: 1
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Mar 3, 2018
Hori-san to Miyamura-kun is just beautiful. Yes the art may be seen as simplistic or bad at first glance (I know I thought so), but it really grew on me over the 1 hour length of the anime. In a short span of three episodes, it managed to actually do some things very well. I'll skip to the Break Down, but only do scores for all, bar the Overall, just due to the shortness of this anime (you don't wanna read a long review for a short anime).
Story: 9/10.
Art: 7/10.
Sound: 7/10.
Character: 10/10.
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Enjoyment: 10/10.
Overall: The story of this anime is done quite well, and revealed slowly in an interesting manner, always keeping you engaged, although it may be seen as a little slow to pick up (it's a slice of life, don't expect immediate action or shenanigans), but speeding up would ruin the calming pacing of the show. The art is consistent and kept to a good level, it appeals, but is fairly minimalistic with extras and some of the character animation at times. Backgrounds are usually done to high-quality. The score for this anime did not disappoint, but was never really given any chances to shine. The characters were portrayed very well and consistently and I felt myself grow attached to and really got to know the two main characters by the end of it (Hori is basically best girl across all of anime, fight me). Enjoyment speaks for itself. Overall, I would give this anime an 8.4/10, rounding down to an 8, it was wonderful and I would wholeheartedly recommend it to you if you enjoy the slice of life genre, or romance that is just about romance (not some weird other plot events or devices), and not at all sappy. Really loved this one, and its hands.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 24, 2018
Beautiful… Hotarubi no Mori e can basically be summed up in that one word. Upon finishing this anime, I needed to sit and process my thoughts for some time to be able to come up with a justified score and my own opinion on it. So without further ado… the Break Down:
Story: The story of Hotarubi no Mori e is a stunning one, and it feels vaguely familiar throughout (although it may be due to the heavy cultural references with yokai that I have become so familiar with throughout). It explores a myriad of themes that fall under love, and what people need. There is
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also a nice air of mystery and Gin and the others, which carries over into some of the story elements, but it’s better discussed later. Without diving into spoilers, I can say that I am sure that it will be a touching story for everyone that will leave you with a feeling of calm nostalgia and wistfulness. This anime is getting a 9/10 for story, although I really would love to round it up to a 10, but there were some times where it felt rushed, or compacted, and I feel like it could easily have stretched out to feature-length, if they had the budget and audience/reason to do so.
Art: The art in Hotarubi no Mori e is consistent, and always pretty and detailed. The animation is smooth and fluid and nothing ever feels weirdly out of place or, for lack of a better word, janky. As far as I could see, the art was never stellar, but it managed to maintain a consistent and strong level that it did not drop below, even in backgrounds, they were always detailed and aesthetically pleasing. An 8/10 is, in my opinion, a fair score for the art in this anime, not that I would expect any less from some of the bigger pictures of Aniplex.
Sound: The music and sound direction really helped to elevate this anime and its immersive-ness (yes, I am aware that it is not a word). I wore my $6AUD headphones whilst watching this (don’t judge me, I’m poor) and it actually felt very real and present. The cicadas and other animal/wild sounds in the background during some of the forest scenes were very crisp and real (even through my horrible headphones) and managed to make this anime really come to life in front of me. The musical direction was also good, ramping up and influencing my thoughts and emotions during some of the climaxes, and allowing a peaceful and calming aura throughout the majority of its scenes, something that can resonate with almost anyone whilst viewing. I am giving this an 8/10 for sound, possibly even an 8.5, but I’ll leave it at an 8.
Character: The character direction was good for the main two protagonists, an air of mystery surrounding Gin, and Hotaru being someone relatable. The relationship between both of these characters I’m sure would also be seen as relatable by most people, as it accurately depicts some of the longingness, and isolation, that can be felt when people are separated, both by space and rules. Avoiding spoilers, I can say that some of the themes and ideas that this anime delves into with its characters and the ways that its characters respond to these, can tell a beautiful moral and story, that could easily mark this anime among the greats and classics, maybe not as an equal (I’m sure people will riot, and hell maybe I’d be one of them, if I said that), but as a successor, showing that this type of story-telling can live on, and does so. I am aware I am discussing story in Character, but this is more because it involves character-based story-telling, which in my humble opinion, is one of the best kinds, and ties closely with character designs, traits, personalities, etc. Hotarubi no Mori e is getting a solid 9/10 for character, as there were of course, some downsides, and the main character, Hotaru, did feel a bit flat at times.
Enjoyment: Easy, 10/10. Whilst it may not have been perfect, I did love this and honestly do not think that I could go lower than a 10/10 score for this anime. Hotarubi no Mori e is something that I found easy to watch and enjoyed it thoroughly, there were some times of immersion-breaking due to a couple character issues at times, but ultimately I enjoyed the experience. To be technical, I would actually give this a 9.5/10, as a result of those issues, but it was just a minor part of a wonderful production.
Overall: As an overall score, I’d give Hotarubi no Mori e a 9/10 (in actuality, I would give it an 8.6 out of 10, but I’m going to keep these rounded to whole numbers). It was enjoyable, it had great sound direction, and the art was always at a good and consistent level. The story was beautiful and very… I guess I’d say classical? It was cultural and nostalgic and I loved it, is what I’m trying to say. All in all, I’d definitely recommend this to anyone who was a fan of the “Great Classics of Anime”, as it produces a similar vibe as all of them, along with many other fans of anime who can appreciate a short and beautiful story. My only complaint, which is typically a rare one, is that it was not any longer.
Reviewer’s Rating: 9
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Feb 5, 2018
Yes! I get to see more of Best Girl Serebryakova and one of (if not) the best female VAs to go with her (anyone who has seen Inou Battle and disagrees with me is wrong)!
General: CHIBI WW2-era German lolis... yeah, alright.
Story: 8/10. I actually really enjoyed this, more than I usually ever do with chibi spinoffs, it actually did add some lore, even if it isn't canon, and gave some fun expansions to the story as well.
Art: 7/10. It's a chibi spinoff, enough said.
Sound: 6/10. Again, a chibi spinoff, enough said.
Character: I would give this an 8/10. It really manages to capture a sense of
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camaraderie between the soldiers in the platoon/brigade/battalion/company (I'm not good with army stuff), and adds fun little character quirks that do not break the shows continuity or the realm of believability.
Enjoyment: I thoroughly enjoyed this, and it was one of the few times I have watched a chibi spinoff where I was not constantly checking the runtime of the show to see when the 2-4 minutes would end. 9/10, definitely.
Overall: All-in-all, I'd give this a 7.5/10, rounding to an 8/10. I really liked it and believe that this is one of the best chibi series I have ever seen in comparison to some others I have watched, and is really fun to have it focusing around best girl Serebryakova. I would recommend this wholeheartedly to fans of Youjo Senki, and take back everything I said about Episode 0.
Reviewer’s Rating: 8
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Feb 5, 2018
"There are no women in Yugioh, only men! Sexy men!" This also applies to Himegoto (maybe or maybe not excluding the sexy part...) Basically, everyone is a guy, sorry everyone "IS A TRAP!" (oh my god what an original joke!)
Story: I'll give it a 5.5/10 for story, so like a 6/10. It's not, *bad*, but it isn't exactly good either. More of a so so, I did like the premise when I heard about the not gay story of traps though.
Art: The animation is fluid, but simplistic for the most part. 6/10.
Sound: It's 4 minutes of a sorta comedyish anime, so it doesn't have the
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best time demonstrating its soundtrack. 5/10, cause I like the OP and ED songs.
Character: I actually like the like 2 female characters the best, and they aren't really impressed upon much (the characters as a whole). It's closer to every character has a character trait and that defines their existence. 5/10, almost a 6.
Enjoyment: I guess like... a 6/10. It wasn't bad, per say, but it wasn't the best thing out there. It was enjoyable though.
Overall: A 6/10. This show is not bland overall, and can be fun to watch for the most part. It really uses its short episodes to its advantage, as this would wear real thin real fast if it was elongated into a couple full episodes. In the end though, I will say that I did not consider this anime a waste of time.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Feb 1, 2018
It's a four minute AMV so I'll just keep this brief, and I'm only judging the art, music and the story/character as one.
Story/Character: I do enjoy how this adds more to Misaki's character somewhat, watching this after completing Another, and it doesn't do a canon break (as far as I can see) like a lot of these do. 6.5/10, rounding to a 7.
Sound/Music: I really like how relaxing and calming this song was, and how it did somewhat gel with Misaki and her character, as well as what was on screen at the time. I'm going to give this an 8/10 because I personally really
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liked it and think it suited her very well as a character.
Art: The art-style was cute and consistent, but as all chibis are, very simplistic in nature. 6/10 for art.
Overall: I'm going to give this a 6, it may not be a proper average of my scores, but all in all, I believe a 6 is a fair rating. I'd definitely recommend this, it does not exactly add much, but it does not subtract anything, and is a nice, zen song to listen to and just relax to with cute visuals and zone out as you tie it all back to Misaki's character. <3
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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Feb 1, 2018
Okay so basically... It's a more loli-ised version of the loli...
General: Not gonna really bother with the breakdown, as it is 90 seconds long, so I'll just do the scores then the overall.
Story: 4.5/10, so 5/10.
Art: 5.5/10, so 6/10.
Sound: 4/10.
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Character: 6/10.
Enjoyment: 5.5/10, so 6/10.
Overall: 6/10. Probably closer to a 5.5/10. Basically, it is really short and a non-canon, this is sort of but not really cute version of Youjo Senki. It doesn't really work for this show, but I'm glad that it at least wasn't like the SAO one because that ended up going on for far too long, but this is only episode 0. Honestly, I guess I'd recommend it as it is literally just 90 seconds of your life, and I have seen worse things that were a full anime, this is just bland. Only watch it if you are really starved of Youjo Senki as you wait for the movie. I am unsure if I'll enjoy the actual full series, but I'll give that a go too.
Reviewer’s Rating: 6
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